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Virbius

A Latin divinity worshipped along with Diana in the grove at Aricia, at the foot of the
Alban Mount. He is said to have been the same as Hippolytus, who was restored to life by
Asclepius at the request of Artemis. It was told that Hippolytus was placed by this goddess
under the care of the nymph Aricia, and received the name of Virbius. By this nymph he became
the father of a son, who was also called Virbius, and whom his mother sent to the assistance
of Turnus against Aeneas (Verg. Aen. vii. 761;
Ovid, Met. xv. 545). This is a transference to Italy of the story of
Hippolytus being devoted to the service of Artemis. It has been suggested with great
probability that Virbius was originally a tree spirit of the sacred grove, to whom horses (as
representatives of the spirit) were sacrificed. Hence they were in time represented as hostile
to the deity Virbius, and therefore excluded from the grove. This was explained by making
Virbius the same as Hippolytus, whose death was caused by his horses running away. See Hippolytus.